The South African rand on Friday fell sharply against the dollar after a new variant with many mutations was detected in the country.
they are monitoring a new variant with numerous mutations to the spike protein — the part of the virus that binds to cells in the body. The health agency is scheduling a special meeting Friday to discuss what it may mean for vaccines and treatments.
The variant, called B.1.1.529, has been detected in South Africa in small numbers, according to the WHO. "We don't know very much about this yet. What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations. And the concern is that when you have so many mutations, it can have an impact on how the virus behaves," Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on Covid-19, said in a Q&A that was livestreamed on the organization's social media channels.
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